12/11/2007 - SPB sponsors Olly Hicks solo round-the-world row
Oliver Hicks is the first man to row across the Atlantic from the United States to Britain, and the youngest-ever rower to have crossed an ocean. He won the Peter Bird-SPB trophy in 2006.
At the end of 2007, Olly will try to become the first person to row solo around the world.
Travelling along the 50' South line of latitude, he will start in New Zealand, pass south of Cape Horn and then far below the Cape of Good Hope before finally returning to New Zealand some two years later.
Sponsored partly by SPB, the expedition will be a world first: the first-ever attempt to cross the three major oceans – Pacific, Atlantic, Indian – in a single voyage. It will also be the longest voyage undertaken in a rowing boat.
Olly will be travelling through some of the most dangerous seas on the planet in a bid to complete this pioneering expedition.
As well as the sporting feat itself, Olly's aim is to raise €700,000 for charity, as well as collecting scientific and medical data, highlighting the effects of global warming on our planet, and demonstrating what can be achieved using renewable energy sources.
Oliver Hicks is the first man to row across the Atlantic from the United States to Britain, and the youngest-ever rower to have crossed an ocean. He won the Peter Bird-SPB trophy in 2006. 
